The apostle Paul and the friendly Maltesers

Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. Acts 28:1-6

Those who are kind benefit themselves. Proverbs 11:17

Paul is on his way to Rome. He is under guard but, as a Roman citizen, he intends to exercise his right to present his case to Caesar. But things don’t go quite according to plan. In Acts 27 we read the dramatic story of the shipwreck which leaves the whole ship’s company – 276 people – stranded on an island which turns out to be Malta.

Acts 28:1-10 then describes what happened when, exhausted, soaked to the skin, no doubt hungry and thirsty, and totally bedraggled, they  look around them to see what they have come to. What do they find?

First, the natives are friendly!

This must have been their greatest fear – that these pagan islanders would kill them or in some other way take advantage of them.

But no; just the opposite: “they showed us no ordinary kindness”. (That’s how the phrase in verse 2 can be literally translated; they went well beyond any call of duty.) They built a fire and, presumably, fed them. It then gets even better: Publius, the “chief official of the island… welcomed us to his home and gave us generous hospitality for three days” (verse 7).

So? Well, we are reminded that while all human beings are sinful in the sight of God, that doesn’t mean they are totally incapable of good deeds. It’s interesting that back at the beginning of chapter 27 Luke tells us that Julius, the Roman soldier in command of the ill-fated ship, showed “kindness” (same word) to Paul.

It's a challenging thought: How thankful are we for the kindness of people who as yet know nothing of Christ? Even more, how often are we - followers of Jesus! - put to shame by the good behaviour of non-Christian friends and strangers? God save us from arrogance!

But second, the natives are deeply superstitious.

I can’t help smiling at the way they respond to the episode of the snake. Luke tells us that a viper comes slithering out of the bonfire and fastens itself on Paul’s hand. Their immediate reaction is to assume that he “must be a murderer” – oh, he managed to escape death by drowning, but he can’t escape Justice that easily!

I picture them warily watching him (no doubt from a safe distance), expecting him to “swell up or suddenly fall dead”. But no; he casually shakes the snake off into the fire “and suffers no ill effect”, whereupon they “changed their minds and said he was a god”. Real flip-flop religion! Sheer superstition.

Two thoughts occur to me…

First, in a negative mode, it’s disturbing how many people even in our educated, scientific world are prey to superstition: from the footballer who insists on emerging from the dressing room each match in exactly the same order; to the politician who formulates policy after consulting astrologers (quite common, apparently, in some parts of the world); to the ordinary person down the road or at work who religiously reads their horoscope every day.

Where God’s truth is not known, superstitious beliefs will soon come crowding in.

But, second, in a more positive mode, perhaps this can give us hope; for it reminds us that human beings have a yen, an instinct, to believe in something above and beyond us, something unseen but real that we all feel after; that there is more to this mysterious world in which we live than what is known to our five senses. Most people, apparently, pray (according to surveys). Most people, one suspects, are “religious” in some form or other.

Let this encourage us then not to be afraid to make known the God we have come to love and follow through the crucified and risen Jesus! All around us there are people more open to our gospel than we realise.

Not, of course, that we should start quoting Bible texts at them, but in the faith that, imperfect though we are, our lives might do the talking (see 1 Peter 3:15).

So… the people of Malta were kind and generous-hearted, but dominated by ignorance and superstition in matters of religion. Is our modern world really so very different? May God open our eyes and help us to see!

A final thought…

Imagine a news headline: Archaeologists unearth an unknown writing by the apostle Paul! We know that most of the letters of Paul were written to Christian congregations scattered around the Mediterranean world. But nobody had any expectation that a new one would come to light! Yet it has! “The Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Church in Malta”…

It’s not going to happen, of course. But it’s one of history’s might-have-beens. In Acts 28:11 we learn that Paul and his companions spent three months on Malta, and it’s hard to imagine that they never took hold of opportunities to speak about Jesus. We know that they were used by God in an extensive healing ministry (Acts 28:8-9) - but there is no mention of a preaching and teaching ministry, or of the founding of a church.

Why, we have no way of knowing. Language problems, perhaps? Or was the grip of superstition just too strong to be loosened in a mere three months? Could it be that the people of Malta were happy to accept real benefits from their Christian visitors, but unwilling to make the radical life-changes that come with true conversion? Whatever, in terms of “success” Paul’s ministry on Malta might be deemed a “failure”.

God only knows. But that shouldn’t stop us from doing all we can to make Jesus known in our little corner of the world, even if our efforts seem doomed to failure. To this day Paul’s visit to Malta is still remembered – there is a popular tourist venue called “St Paul’s Bay”.

There was a reason for that storm, that shipwreck, that brush with death. And so with us; in all the ups and downs of life and witness, God knows what he is doing. Trust him…!

Father, all sorts of puzzling and painful things happen to us throughout our lives. Please give us the faith to believe that, though unseen, you are in control, and that one day we will see your pattern and purpose. Amen.